Tackling malnutrition in India with mobile

May 01 / India

India has among the highest rates in the world of underweight children, 43%. More than one-third of the world's children who suffer from wasting live in India, one in every five children under age five in the country suffering from wasting due to acute undernutrition; 48% of India's children are stunted -- a key indicator of chronic malnutrition.

Improving the malnutrition situation in India will require a newfound dedication to education and training programmes in nutrition complimented with political will, committed resources and investment, and a societal approach that addresses the root causes of malnutrition in innovative ways.

World Vision India is building the nutrition knowledge of mothers in particularly undernutrition-vulnerable communities through an innovative method -- mobile phones used as learning devices to improve maternal and child health understanding.

As part of the MHealth initiative, ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) health workers in the community were provided with a hand-held device to disseminate critical health information on maternal and child health. These audio and visual aids help mothers understand easier and better important information for their health and the health of their young children.

"The mobile tells me what nutritious food to give my son so that he does not become malnourished, and what vaccinations my child needs and when to do it," says Geeta, mother of 16-month-old Pratab.

World Vision India, in partnership with the government, works in areas with high cases of malnutrition, to reduce malnutrition and create awareness of healthy living.